# United States Representative, District 35 Compare records and positions simply between Mike Cargile or Norma J. Torres for United States Representative, District 35 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (2-year term). - Jurisdiction: Federal - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/us-rep-35 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: September 24, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 89 out of 100 (Strong), across 9 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Mike Cargile** — Small Businessman · Republican - **Norma J. Torres** — U.S. Representative · Democratic Representative Norma J. Torres took 59.5% of the June 2 vote and Republican Mike Cargile took 40.4%; they were the only two candidates on the primary ballot. The district covers Pomona, Ontario and part of the western Inland Empire. The winner holds one of 435 seats in the U.S. House for a two-year term. A member introduces bills, sits on committees that shape federal legislation, votes on the federal budget and on war powers, and handles casework between constituents and federal agencies. Seniority governs committee standing, so a longer-serving member carries influence a newcomer cannot. The incumbent draws the majority of her funding from committees rather than individuals, and her opponent raised under $5,000 — yet took more than 40% of the vote. That gap between resources and support is worth noticing in a district usually treated as safe. ## Norma J. Torres Norma J. Torres has represented California's 35th District since 2015. Before that she served as a Los Angeles-area 911 dispatcher, a Pomona city councilmember and mayor, a state Assemblymember, and a state senator. As a state senator she worked on implementing the Affordable Care Act and modernizing the state's 911 system (torres.house.gov). She now serves as a senior member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. She also chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus's FAA Reauthorization Task Force. Her office credits her with authoring the Enrique Roman-Martinez Military Cold Case Justice Act and legislation implementing the Central American Women and Children Protection Act (torres.house.gov). "Working families deserve a champion in the halls of the United States Congress, and I'm committed to being that voice to help them get ahead," she says (campaign site). On September 24, 2026, she and Sen. Alex Padilla reintroduced the BASIC Act. It is a proposed federal grant program to help colleges address student food, housing and child-care insecurity, with fifteen original House cosponsors. "No student working toward a college degree should have to wonder where their next meal will come from," she said (torres.house.gov). She promises to champion "economic equality" and expanded access to health care, and supports reproductive freedom (campaign site). Her office points to funding she has secured for Ontario International Airport workforce training and Inland Empire infrastructure as evidence of what she calls "delivering results for the Inland Empire" (torres.house.gov). **Strengths:** A decade of federal seniority, an appropriations subcommittee seat, and an active bill this month expanding student aid. **Trade-offs:** A crowded committee and caucus workload leaves less visible independent scrutiny of any single vote or bill. **Keep in mind:** Her record here is service and funding wins rather than controversy; whether that satisfies you is the comparison this race turns on. ## Mike Cargile Mike Cargile, a self-described "third generation Army Officer," is a Republican and the only other candidate on this district's ballot (campaign site). He has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress, and his campaign site gives no further detail on his rank, unit, years of service, or any civilian career. "Years ago, as a young Army officer, I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I am here to fulfill that oath," he says (campaign site). He says the country's "foundational values face unprecedented assault" and calls on supporters to help "restore faith in our great Republic" (campaign site). He has not held elected office, so there is no independent record of votes, lawsuits or public conduct to weigh. His three campaign pillars are to "close the border," "protect children," and "save the economy" (campaign site). He describes his positions as "Pro-God, Pro-Family, Pro-Life... Pro-Jobs, Pro-Police," supports legalizing cannabis with age restrictions, opposes transgender athletes in girls' sports and DEI programs in schools, and says his campaign is funded "solely" by individual supporters, without support from parties, PACs or corporations (campaign site). **Strengths:** A stated small-donor, no-party-money funding approach and a clearly documented set of campaign positions on his own site. **Trade-offs:** No record in any office; what is available is his campaign's own material, not independent reporting on him. **Keep in mind:** No record in office to judge; coverage of this race carries little beyond the candidate's own campaign materials. ## Record in office Mike Cargile has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. Norma J. Torres (Democratic) has served in the U.S. House since 2015 and has sponsored 41 bills in the 119th Congress; 1 of their career bills have become law. Per Congress.gov and the public-domain congress-legislators roster, retrieved 2026-09-21. ## Record details Torres — Committees: Appropriations; House Administration Torres — HR 3329 (2020): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5186 Benito Street in Montclair, California, as the "Paul Eaton Post Office Building". Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record. ## Financial info - **Mike Cargile** — $4,759 raised (Individuals: $4,759) - **Norma J. Torres** — $769,061 raised (Individuals: $268,061; PACs & committees: $498,820) Total raised is all receipts for the 2026 cycle; the breakdown lists direct contributions, so the pieces can sum below the total. Figures are FEC filings through June 30, 2026, per the FEC bulk campaign-finance summaries, retrieved 2026-09-21. ## Review notes - Mike Cargile for Congress and Norma Torres for Congress may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources. ## Sources 1. [CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/primary-election-june-2-2026/statement-vote) 2. [Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary](https://ballotpedia.org) 3. [Rep. Norma Torres — About (used for career history, committee roles)](https://torres.house.gov/about) 4. [Norma Torres for Congress — campaign site (used for why running, promises)](https://www.normatorres.com/) 5. [Congresswoman Torres and Senator Padilla Introduce BASIC Act (used for documented fact)](https://torres.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congresswoman-torres-and-senator-padilla-introduce-basic-act-to-ensure-no-student-has-to-choose-between-college-and-basic-needs) 6. [Mike Cargile for Congress — campaign site (used for biography, why running, promises)](http://www.cargileforcongress.com/) 7. [congress-legislators — current members of Congress (unitedstates project)](https://unitedstates.github.io/congress-legislators/legislators-current.json) 8. [Congress.gov — member sponsored legislation (Library of Congress)](https://api.congress.gov/) 9. [FEC — 2026 House & Senate current-campaign financial summaries (bulk data)](https://www.fec.gov/files/bulk-downloads/2026/webl26.zip) ## The rest of the ballot United States Representative, District 35 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "United States Representative, District 35 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/us-rep-35 (sources last retrieved September 24, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.